68. + Anne Boswell proceedingsdefend , in the Parish of Whitechapel , wife of the late Henry Boswell proceedingsvictim , not having the Fear of God before her Eyes , being moved by the Instigation of the Devil, the said Anne , being the Wife of the said Henry, in and upon the same Henry her Husband, feloniously and traiterously did make an Assault , she the said Anne , with a Knife, upon the Back of the said Henry , between the 5th and 6th Rib, with Malice aforethought , did give one mortal Wound, the Depth of four Inches and an Half, of which Wound he languished till he died , &c. Oct. 28 .

Court to John Marlow < no role > . Give an Account of what you know of the Fact the Prisoner is charged with.

Marlow. Please you, my Lord, I was in the House some Time .

Court. First tell the Time and Place.

Marlow. 'Tis at the Sign of the Three-Tuns in Ayloff-street, Goodmans-fields . On the 28th of October I was in the House; the deceased went down to draw me half a Pint of Twopenny; while he was gone for the Beer, his Wife went backward; whilst she was gone backward, he brought the half Pint of Twopenny; I was standing with my Back to the Fire; the deceased, he went backward also, and in about four or five Minutes Time, I heard the Cry of Murder; it was a Woman's Voice, and I thought it to be the Prisoner at the Bar: There was a Man that was in Company with me, that I believe to be fuddled , he started up immediately at the Cry of Murder !

Q. Is that Man here?

Marlow. No, my Lord; when the deceased had been gone backward about the Space of four or five Minutes, he came back in his Shirt; he came towards me, and went up three or four Stairs, and put his Hand upon the Banister, he turns his Face round to me, and says, my Wife has stabbed, killed, or murdered me, one of these three things he said, but which I can't positively say. He turned to me, and showed me his Back , the upper Part of his Back was all bloody.

Q. Did you see the Wound?

Marlow. No, my Lord, he being at some Distance from me, he turned his Back again, and went up Stairs. I was in a great Surprize; I drank the remaining Part of my half Pint of Twopenny, and came out of the House ; when I came away, coming out of Doors, not seeing the deceased's Wife, nor knowing which way she came by me, I thought she might be backward; but when I had gone about five or six Yards from the Door, I saw the deceased's Wife, the Prisoner, I heard her cry out, That she had murdered or stabbed her Husband.

Q. To what Purpose did she make that Exclamation?

Marlow. I suppose she went to call a Surgeon. I was reading the News-paper, and she might get by me. I did not think she was gone out of the House , I thought she had been with the Man that went up on the crying of Murder . When I came out, I saw several Women with her, up in Arms as it were.

Q. Have you any thing more to say?

Marlow . Nothing more, my Lord, that is the Truth I can stand too.

Court to George Gowry < no role > . Give an Account of this Matter.

Gowry. Upon the 28th of October, between twelve and one o'Clock in the Afternoon, this Prisoner at the Bar called me, and told me she had stabbed and murdered her Husband, and desired I would come to his Assistance; when I came there, I found him standing upon the Floor.

Q. Was he above Stairs or below?

Gowry . I found him below Stairs, standing upon the Floor with a Knife in his Hand, and he told me that was the Knife that his Wife stabbed him with, he desired me that I would take care of it; immediately he went up Stairs, and desired me to come after him, which I did; when I came there, I examined the Wound slightly, and found it was very dangerous. I stopped the bleeding, in order to get a proper Surgeon to my Assistance .

Court. Describe the Wound.

Gowry. The Wound was under the Right-Shoulder, between the 5th and 6th Rib.

Q. How deep was the Wound?

Gowry. I could not justly tell then, but it appeared since about five Inches .

Q. What have you further to say?

Gowry. I have nothing further, but I went for a Surgeon to my Assistance, but when I came back, I did not do any thing.

- Harrison , Surgeon. My Lord, I was called to this Place by Mr Gowry, in Whitechapel; when I came, I found the Wound as it has been described. I suppose the Wound must have been made with a Sort of a Butcher's Knife, of a short, sharp, broad Point; I discovered at the first, that the Wound had penetrated the Thorax.

Q. When did the Man die?

Harrison . Two Days after.

Q. Do you suppose that the Wound was the Occasion of his Death?

Harrison. Yes, Sir.

- Green. I was desired to inspect the Body of the deceased; upon viewing the Body, there was a Wound just under the Right-Shoulder, between the fifth and sixth Rib, entirely close to the Back-bone; upon opening the Body, the Cavity, that Part of the Thorax, was quite full of Blood, as if forced into it by a Syringe .

Court. I suppose you are of Opinion this Wound was the Occasion of his Death.

Green. Yes, Sir.

Court. Prisoner, now is your Time to enter upon your Defence.

Prisoner. Two Men came in, and they drank several Pints of Twopenny, and several Drams : At length one of them began to be pretty much in Liquor; upon which my Husband said, Is Dinner ready? I went to take it up; it was in the Wash-house, which went down three Steps, my Husband went to draw some Twopenny, and my Husband saw the other Man talk to me, and he said to him, What Business have you to talk to my Wife? and he struck the Man; I had a Knife and Fork in my Hand, and they in struggling threw me down, and fell upon me, and he said, O Lord, I am killed! With that I went out of Doors to get a Surgeon to dress him, and to see what ailed him.

Court. Repeat what you said of the Knife and Fork in your Hand?

Prisoner. I was taking up a Piece of Beef and Cabbage for Dinner; while the Man was talking with me, my Husband came up out of the Cellar, and he asked the man, What Business he had to talk to his Wife? With that he struck the Man, and the Place being narrow, in the Struggle I fell, he fell down, and the Knife fell into his Back.

Q. Where is that Man that your Husband struggled with?

Prisoner. I do not know, Sir; I thought he would have been here, I did expect him; he said he would be here.

Q. to the first Witness. John Marlow < no role > , do you know this back Yard?

Marlow. I do not know any Thing of the Matter.

Q. What Account did the deceased give?

Marlow. My Lord, I told you he turned about upon the Stairs, and said his Wife had killed him.

Q. Did you not ask him?

Marlow . My Lord, I was frightened that such an Accident should happen while I was in the House, so I drank my Twopenny, and went out.

Q. Did you see any other Man there?

Marlow. The Man she speaks of went into the House along with me.

Court. There was a Person sitting you thought was in Liquor, did that Man go back before the Cry of Murder, or afterwards? Did any Person in the Room go back before the Cry of Murder?

Marlow. No, my Lord, not to my Knowledge.

Q. to Christopher Boswell < no role > . What have you to say to this Matter?

Boswell . My Lord, I am Brother to the deceased, I was told the Tuesday Night before my Lord-Mayor's Day, that my Brother was murdered. I goes down directly to the House; when I came, I asked how Harry did, the Prisoner said, you may go up and see ; when I went up, he was lying like a Man dead, groaning . I asked whether he thought he should recover, he told me he could not tell; so with that he looked at his Wife, and he says, if it was not for you, we might have been in our Beds, as we ought to have been; so he, looking at his Wife, says, you have done a fine Thing to laugh at.

Court. I hope she did not laugh at that Time?

Boswell . I cannot tell. I did not look at her Face; with that the Prisoner at the Bar went down Stairs, and her Mother in-Law desired me to follow her, that she might not do any Damage to herself. I followed her, and found her by the Fire-side in the Fore room, and said, Nanny, What do you sit here for? I said, Nanny , How could you be so barbarous to butcher one that you liked so well? Why, says she, it was through a Woman that came into the House, that told me he had been along with some fresh Women that came into this Neighbourhood. I says to her, Who was that Woman that came and told you so? She said it was wooden-legged Peg ; I said wooden-legged Peg says the same of you, and cannot you forgive him, as well as he forgives you; with that she made no Reply, but went up Stairs where the deceased lay.

Q. Did you follow her?

Boswell. Yes, my Lord.

Q. What past then?

Boswell. Nothing farther. I went the Night following to see him, and the House was open, and the Prisoner at the Bar as usual serving of Customers; I went in and asked her how her Husband did, she gave me a Candle, and said I might go up and see; I asked him how he did, he said he hoped he was better; that is all that I know.

Magnus Latham < no role > . The deceased, my Lord, worked for me; I happened to be in the House, some Words arose at the Table, she said she should die for him, and she threw a Knife and Fork at him.

Q. When was this?

Latham . The Day of the Month I cannot tell.

Q. Was it the Day he was killed?

Latham . No, my Lord, it was a considerable Time ago.

Q. What do you imagine to be the Cause of it?

Latham . I imagine something of Jealously between them.

Q. What were the Words that passed between them?

Latham . She believed she should die for him; when she threw the Knife and Fork at him, he was obliged to screen himself.

Q. Was there some Heat and Anger when the Knife and Fork was thrown?

Latham. My Lord, I cannot tell the beginning of all of it; there was a Cooper came in, and they went to play a Game at Mississippi , and she got a little in Liquor, but her Husband pacified her. After she had thrown the Knife and Fork, he persuaded her to go to Bed; he went up with her to put her to Bed, at Night she came down in good Order, and very loving seemingly, as they ought to be.

Q. What Time was it that she went to Bed?

Latham. I believe about two o'Clock, or thereabouts .

Q. to Mary Hurst < no role > . What have you to say in the Behalf of the Prisoner at the Bar?

Hurst . I had been out about some Business: when I came Home, I heard a great Misfortune had happened between Mr Boswell and his Wife. I heard she had done Mischief to her Husband; when I came into the House, I saw the Prisoner at the Bar ; I shook my Head at her, and said nothing when I came in, but saw her crying and ringing her Hands about the Room. I could not speak to her at that Time, neither did I go up and see the Man at that Time, till Mr Green and Mr Gowry came. I then went up, and held the Bason while he was bleeding : when Mr Green came down, she asked after her Husband, then he asked for his Fee, upon that the Prisoner took a Guinea out of her Pocket, and gave it to him; and when I came down, the Prisoner was standing at the Foot of the Stairs, ringing her Hands, and asked me how her Husband did, I told her I had not spoke to him yet; I told her I would have her go up, she said she would not: I shook my Head at her, then I went up and asked him how he did; he said, as well as he could expect: I said, Mr Boswell 'tis a sad thing to see such Differences between your Wife and you, be reconciled to your Wife, and see her; says he, let her come up, I owe her no ill Will, 'tis as much my Fault as her's.

Q. When he said it was as much his Fault as his Wife's, did he give an Account of what happened ?

Hurst . No, my Lord, he desired I would go down and look to the House, while she came up, which she did, but what they said, I cannot tell. I came the next Morning, and asked her how her Husband did, she desired me to go up; she asked for a Nurse that might be a careful Woman of him, but the Person that was recommended, asked too much Money, he said they could not afford it.

Mary Holywright < no role > . I lived a Servant in the House; at the Time I lived with them, they lived in Love and Unity. I have been come away twelve Months last Michaelmas.

Q. How long did you live there?

Holywright . Above a Quarter of a Year: there was Love and Harmony between them, it was nothing but Harry and Nanny, &c.

Elizabeth Lyons < no role > . The deceased and the Prisoner were Lodgers to me before they went to House-keeping; they lodged with me together four Months. I saw nothing but that they lived together in Love and Unity; she went out to Ironing, and him to work Journey-work, that was about three or four Years ago; that is all I have to say.

John Brawley < no role > . All that I can say, she lived a Servant with my Father about eight Years ago, and behaved extremely well. I have served the Prisoner at the Bar with Drink since they have kept a publick House; I have been up and down at the House, and I have seen them sociable together, as other People are.

Guilty , Death .